getting back to normal after sertraline

[destructogirl]

hey all. this is my first post here. i've been on many medications in the past. most recently i was taking sertraline 50mg for the second time. i had been on it for a year or two a couple of years ago and stopped because i didn't think it was helping much. after being off it for awhile, my anxiety returned tenfold. i was always afraid of dying from situations i had no control over (an asteroid hitting the earth, a bridge collapse, etc). it made my life miserable, so i decided to go back on sertraline. pretty much immediately, i started to experience fatigue and it made me realize i had this side effect when i was on it the first time (i had always tried to figure out what caused the fatigue, i never attributed it to the medicine)...i stayed on the medicine for about 6 months or so and couldn't deal with the fatigue anymore, so i started to wean myself off. i started taking half a pill, then half every other day, every 2 days, etc. eventually i'd just take a half when the withdrawal symptoms (mainly the brain zaps) became too much. i then decreased it to a quarter pill. i can't remember exactly when i last took a quarter, but i'm guessing 3-4 weeks. i am still experiencing the fatigue and it's just awful. i have to drag myself out of bed every morning and drag myself through the day. i know i've experienced this before but i can't really remember when it eventually got better. has anyone experienced this? i really want to just get back to normal. i'm trying to lose weight and feel good, but it's so hard when this fatigue makes me not want to do anything.

[Bridget Goddard]

I experienced the EXACT same thing on sertraline. It took about a week after I had completely stopped taking it for my energy to improve. Crazy drug, it took me a while to figure it out- I had my iron tested and my thyroid checked as possible causes for my fatigue. I gained weight on it as well so while it initially helped with my anxiety, in the end it kind of made me feel worse.

I hope things improve for you soon!

[destructogirl]

Crazy drug, it took me a while to figure it out- I had my iron tested and my thyroid checked as possible causes for my fatigue. I gained weight on it as well so while it initially helped with my anxiety, in the end it kind of made me feel worse.

same with me! the first time i was on it i also had this whole thing with my thyroid. i was positive i had hypothyroidism and i actually worked at a doctor's office and had my levels checked and it was actually super low. i thought i had a pituitary tumor, haha. it did help my anxiety, but i just felt/feel like garbage all the time. it's not worth it.

i actually friended you before because i saw you on the front page and you have cool tattoos and your cat is cute, two things i like! :)

[Bridget Goddard]

same with me! the first time i was on it i also had this whole thing with my thyroid. i was positive i had hypothyroidism and i actually worked at a doctor's office and had my levels checked and it was actually super low. i thought i had a pituitary tumor, haha. it did help my anxiety, but i just felt/feel like garbage all the time. it's not worth it.

i actually friended you before because i saw you on the front page and you have cool tattoos and your cat is cute, two things i like! :)

Thanks, girl! Humphrey was the coolest cat, I lost him in a breakup. BOO. I was actually living in queens then- you're on long island right?

Thyroid dysfunction runs in my family (my mom takes synthetic thyroid and my sister has graves disease etc) so I was convinced that was the culprit. But my blood panels came back normal. It was a fluke that I stopped the sertraline. Just something I decided on a bit of a whim. I know doctors are humans and not infallible but in hindsight I'm sort of surprised mine didn't make the connection.

Have you noticed any improvement at all yet?

[destructogirl]

Thanks, girl! Humphrey was the coolest cat, I lost him in a breakup. BOO. I was actually living in queens then- you're on long island right?

aw that sucks about humphrey. i am on long island, but i grew up in queens and lived there until i was 24. that's so weird! where in queens did you live? i grew up in flushing/whitestone area.

i have not noticed any improvements really. brain zaps are very infrequent and much milder than before. i still can't shake this fatigue though. i came across a thread on here about taking amino acids and magnesium chloride. i actually just ordered them. hope it helps! are you doing ok without meds?

[Bridget Goddard]

I was living in ridgewood which really isn't too deep into queens, I think if I crossed the street I was in Bushwick. Ha.
I miss New York a lot, but had to get out-- or at least that's what felt like my only option at the time. I was living with my boyfriend and he was a real piece of work, to put it lightly. I'm from here (Oakland) so I guess that's why I came crawling back. I think that's probably about the time my anxiety started to get really bad but I didn't really realize what was happening at first. You know?

I'm doing ok. I think it's only been a couple of months since I stopped the sertraline. I definitely notice my anxiety a bit more, especially when I'm stressed about something concrete. Which, I feel like is a huge improvement over having anxiety for no explainable/rational reason. It's still frustrating though. Fortunately, I think through therapy I've actually acquired some skills to deal with and manage symptoms. If the alternative is zero anxiety but crippling fatigue I'll pass.

It sounds like you're doing the right thing, in the thick of it it's easy to get discouraged and feel like there's no hope but I think if you're patient with yourself you'll start to feel better. Hang in there!!

[NixonRulz]

hey all. this is my first post here. i've been on many medications in the past. most recently i was taking sertraline 50mg for the second time. i had been on it for a year or two a couple of years ago and stopped because i didn't think it was helping much. after being off it for awhile, my anxiety returned tenfold. i was always afraid of dying from situations i had no control over (an asteroid hitting the earth, a bridge collapse, etc). it made my life miserable, so i decided to go back on sertraline. pretty much immediately, i started to experience fatigue and it made me realize i had this side effect when i was on it the first time (i had always tried to figure out what caused the fatigue, i never attributed it to the medicine)...i stayed on the medicine for about 6 months or so and couldn't deal with the fatigue anymore, so i started to wean myself off. i started taking half a pill, then half every other day, every 2 days, etc. eventually i'd just take a half when the withdrawal symptoms (mainly the brain zaps) became too much. i then decreased it to a quarter pill. i can't remember exactly when i last took a quarter, but i'm guessing 3-4 weeks. i am still experiencing the fatigue and it's just awful. i have to drag myself out of bed every morning and drag myself through the day. i know i've experienced this before but i can't really remember when it eventually got better. has anyone experienced this? i really want to just get back to normal. i'm trying to lose weight and feel good, but it's so hard when this fatigue makes me not want to do anything.

Welcome to the forum

As much as I want to comment on your story, I just can't help think that you may have the coolest avatar on the forum

[destructogirl]

Welcome to the forum

As much as I want to comment on your story, I just can't help think that you may have the coolest avatar on the forum

hahaha, thanks! i love totoro <3 i'm actually in the middle of knitting a totoro hat.

[destructogirl]

that is just so funny to me that you lived in ny and i friended you randomly without even knowing. my husband's best friend lived in ridgewood for a few years. did you get tattooed by anyone when you were here?

after trying so many different meds, i've come to the conclusion that they're not worth it unless you have a crippling condition. my husband's a writer (music and stuff) and he has a line he wrote- "what's worse, the symptoms or the side effects?"...i'm thinking the side effects are worse for me most of the time. i'm glad you're doing well now!